BAJ Digest: Your weekly jewellery news roundup – 15th May

BAJ Digest: Your weekly jewellery news roundup – 15th May

Here at the British Academy of Jewellery we like to stay up to date with what’s happening in the jewellery and design world. Welcome to the next instalment of our BAJ Digest – a weekly series dedicated to keeping you up to date with the latest news.

Source: The Vogue

Kate Moss launches jewellery collaboration

Everyone’s favourite supermodel has teamed up with Brazilian jewellery designer Ara Vartanian to create a collection of jewellery. Moss, who once described jewellery as “my drug of choice” has created a line inspired by protection and spirituality that will no doubt fly out of Harvey Nichols.

Beaverbrooks makes royal proposal dreams come true

The British retail chain hired a couple of look-a-likes to pose as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for an unusual publicity stunt. The pair staged a proposal on the London eye and were seen peering through the window at a Beaverbrooks store. Top points for originality.

There is a new luxury jeweller in London town. Within a 3,000sq ft palace of glass, steel, marble and crystal, watched over by a rhino, are some of the world’s priciest gems. The new Knightsbridge jewellery store’s owner says he chose to open in the city because it is the “billionaire capital of the world”.

It sounds like a bit of a drag for jewellery, but read through this story and you’ll find that high-end jewellery is actually faring better than luxury watches. While sales of Richemont’s timepieces dropped by 11% year on year, jewellery dipped just 2%. And in the UK, Brexit caused double-digit sales growth.

Christie’s to auction the Rockefeller emerald: a potentially record-breaking stone with a prestigious provenance

Jewels with provenance – a documented story, preferably including some high-profile previous owners – always fetch a higher price at auction than those without. And this is a gemstone with a story. But will it be enough to knock Elizabeth Taylor’s brooch off the top spot for the most expensive emerald?

The mother-of-pearl revolution

Petals, veneer, tiles, discs, faceted gems – who knew there were so many uses for mother-of-pearl? This season, designers from Dior to Melanie Georgacopoulos are rediscovering the shimmering inner surface of the shells that cultivate pearls, and are presenting it as a luxury jewellery material in new collections.